Holy Cross Junior Named a Truman Scholar

WORCESTER, Mass. – Jonathan E. Favreau, a Holy Cross junior from North Reading, Mass., has been named a Harry S. Truman Scholar in a national competition. The prestigious scholarship, which provides $30,000 for the senior year of college and two or three years of graduate study, is awarded to 75 to 80 students nationwide each year.

Students selected plan to embark on a career in public service, whether in government, uniformed services, public-interest organizations, nongovernmental organizations, public-service oriented nonprofit institutions (such as those intended to help the needy or disadvantaged or to protect the environment), or educational institutions. Colleges and universities can nominate up to four students for this award each year. Finalists are selected to be interviewed and the winners chosen from among them. Important criteria are not only academic excellence, but also significant service and leadership that give confidence that the student will be an "agent for change" in their future career.

Favreau, a double major in political science and sociology, is currently studying in Washington, D.C., in the Holy Cross Washington Semester Program. One of the College's Dana Scholars, he intends to pursue a Ph.D. in government and social policy as preparation for a career in government, possibly including seeking elective office. He has coordinated the Welfare Solidarity Project of Worcester, and established the student-staffed Oncology Volunteer Effort at UMass Memorial Hospital (M.O.V.E.). These experiences, along with internships with Mass. State Senator Michael Knapik and U.S. Senator John Kerry, have made him aware of the dire need for alleviation of poverty in the United States, preferably through full employment at a living wage. An avid writer, Favreau is a long-time contributor to the College's student newspaper, The Crusader, and currently is working in Senator Kerry's press office.